A call to crackdown on litter louts has been made amid accusations town hall is dragging its feet.

A BRAMHALL councillor has called for a crackdown on litter louts and has accused Stockport Council of dragging its feet - leaving areas unsightly.

Councillor Les Leggett, who represents the West Bramhall ward, says rubbish is being dumped on the streets because missing or vandalised litter bins are not being replaced.

He said: "This is an on-going problem throughout the borough. There are 97 litter bins in Stockport which need replacing, but the council has told me it doesn't have the money to replace them at the moment.

"Areas such as the public garden on Woodford Road near Woolworths in Bramhall village, Ogden Road and the public footpath leading to Bramhall Park off Bramhall Lane South are a mess because missing bins have not been replaced."

Bramhall housewife Thelma Ainsworth, of Brookdale Road, said: "I've lived here for 40 years and I've been very sad to see how the area has become so dirty. Some days I go out onto Bramhall Green and pick up the rubbish myself.

"The council is giving planning permission to fast-food outlets but doesn't think about the rubbish these places generate - most of the litter I pick up is plastic take-away food containers.

"The areas around the footpath leading to Bramhall Park and around the train station are particulary bad for litter."

Coun Les Leggett added: "Not having the money to replace something as simple as missing litter bin shows how bad things really are in Stockport.

"This council can always find the money to protect its political schemes, but not for practical issues which are of benefit to the local community and local people. I think it's a disgrace."

A spokeswoman for Stockport Council, who admitted that 97 bins in the borough needed replacing, said: "On average between 15-20 bins are vandalised every week in Stockport.

"We are looking at replacing them with concrete bins but it takes four to six weeks for new bins to be delivered. We will replace the bins in order of the priority of the locations."